It's fun being able to wander around on our own. Tours are fab, but once you figure out where you want to venture, turn yourself loose. We decided to get a full day metro pass and go and discover "kitchenware Town", "fabric Town" and "electronic Town".
First stop, Kappabashi Dori (Kitchenware)...
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| Giant chef head at base of street. And why does he look French?? |
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| plastic food models, used in most restaurant windows, on sale here |
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| children's dishes on display |
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| Tea cups across from Giant Chef. |
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| They love their owls here... |
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| Amazing cookie cutters |
We could spend hours combing these shops. Everything from skillets, clay pots, chopsticks, food models, aprons to take away plates can be found here. We were in heaven. Many things are familiar to us, but then there are the uniquely Japanese items.
Soon it was off to Nippori, or Fabric Town. Oh boy!!! I knew better than to spend too much time here or Hubby might go insane. So we hit a few shops, and of course everyone had something you "needed". Kept it short and sweet, but got a few meters of usable fabric.
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| public art |
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| Look what we found.... |
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| look what I found!!! |
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| fabric, fabric everywhere. So neat and tidy. (unlike LA) |
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| clever use of cardboard |
Akihabara, or the electronic Town is a visual overload. I wish our boys were here. They would know what to do and where to go. I had hoped to find some mania/anime items, but I didn't even know where to begin. Also we were starving so we had to find food. Lunch at 2:30 is something we are not used to.
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| Wow, don't I wish I looked this good all the time. |
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| Didn't eat here, but you that know, KNOW |
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| Side street |
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| Visual overload everywhere |
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| Vending machine store |
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| One of two Sega stores |
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| Cute car, nothing more.... |
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| wall art |
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| cosplay girl passing out flyers |
The area is home to the Cosplay cafes as well. It is short for "costume play", were people dress in their favorite anime or comic costumes and meet with friends like minded. We would have loved to snap more photos of people on the street but you really should ask permission and some are moving fast. It is a very interest area to people watch as well.
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| He had no idea what he was standing in front of. Perfect though |
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| arcades everywhere. |
We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and will have to venture back again. Next time with larger suitcases to haul stuff home.
Add on: it was mentioned to us to go to Roppongi, where all the clubs are, thus the sailors go. Really?? Turns out it was one metro stop next to us. We decided to walk there during the day. It was a nice walk on a crisp day (love it). Passed a gal on the street passing out flyers for massage. Yes please. It's the middle of the day, so nothing weird there. I will highly recommend this place - 60 minutes for us$30 (day price I think), fully clothed (in their Ts and shorts). So relaxing. There seems to be a theme to our holidays - eat and massage!! If you are in the area and decide to go, exit Roppongi metro station exit #3, turn right, turn right at the next light and look for this sign on the right side of the street. Sorry, I can't read the name, but look for the two hands symbol.
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| Legit massage! |
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| street scene |
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| nice eatery |
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| one of the MANY clubs here in Roppongi |
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